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etrayamemes2025-01-02 03:19 pm
etrayamods) wrote in etrayamemes2025-01-02 03:19 pm
TDM 006
 ⏵ arrival ⏴ Arrival is absolutely not normal this month. Instead of a hospital bed, you wake in a tunnel with a large group of other people. These are the residents. A woman’s voice in an earpiece hurriedly clues you in with an apology. I apologize; I had not planned to introduce you this way, but we are low on time. Please proceed down the hallway. For everyone else, coming in is much the same. The instruction goes out to head to designated areas immediately, where companion bots will escort the residents of Etraya down into the depths, the area beneath where much the same is explained.  ⏵ disrobing ⏴ The tunnel eventually opens directly into the foreroom of an expansive library, painted in marvelous hues and patterns with skylights far above. There are wizards milling about, bearded and holding tomes, quietly chatting amongst themselves. The reception area of the library has tall ceilings with equally tall doors Before you get too caught up in the scenery, a voice directs you forward. A gentleman, hunched and bespeckled craws out. "Make a line! Make a line, everyone! You cannot enter the library dressed as you are... Come forward and give me your name." The receptionist asks your given name and then hands over a box from underneath his counter. You can give him any name you want, he doesn’t seem to mind. It is tied with a tagged ribbon- labeling it accordingly. “The _____ robe of _______.”
As you read what the contents of the box may be, they form inside- Looking and behaving as your character expects them to. After all, magic is all in the wielder’s mind. Don your robes and enter the library.  ⏵ unfamiliar familiars ⏴ For those without a familiar (like one hatched from an egg not too long ago) you may borrow one from the library counter. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they will all assist in the very important mission. As you roam the library, they will make little indications that you are closer or further from finding a piece of the pearl.
 ⏵ the task at hand ⏴ With robes donned and creature in hand, you must now complete your mission. Find the pieces of the shattered pearl. As you enter the library, you may notice that it’s all very dim. There’s oil lamps around the place that may be moved with you to assist in your journey if your robes do not already emit light. Break off and search the library. There is a directory at the front to point guests to all the different sections.
Each section looks enough like the last, though the books within have immense power. Pick up the wrong book, and you might conjure a dragon or a historical figure! You must persist and avoid making too much noise or breaking too many things. Or else the Librarian, a tall mass of knotted fabric will confiscate your robe and usher you back outside. Your name will be struck from the list, and you must pick a new one to re-enter the library to continue the search. You can try to fight back against him- he may be set alight with the lamp. But should you be starting fires in here? Any thread with 15 comments between you and another may be submitted to find a piece of the pearl. There are 20 pieces altogether, and we will determine if the mission was successful by March 28th. A post will go live on the OOC comm for this! This mission occurs out of time, similar to how the spaceship had. Meaning, those currently in game can experience these events any time between now, and March 14th. Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Task: Books
But here Gorgug is, donning a robe that can only be described as "psychedelic", trying to follow the very insistent head nods of a toad he holds in his just as green hands.
And honestly, it doesn't take long for the obvious to happen: for Gorgug to actually blink and register a figure on a bookcase. In whatever form, shape, currently in the middle of doing whatever-- ]
Wah!
[ That's a yelp, and he throws up his toad in the shock--and the poor thing lands with a small thud on top of the bookshelf.
rrrrrrrrrr, says the toad from above. ]
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And watches, unblinking, until he's spotted in return and the poor toad is hurled upwards to land with a plop on top of the shelf he'd just been climbing.
There's an answering croak from somewhere on his person, and very briefly his gaze flicks upward. Back to Gorgug. Slowly he pulls himself the rest of the way up to find a perch beside the toad, almost absently setting his own beside that one. Height is an advantage.]
I didn't mean to startle you.
[It's not exactly friendly, he struggles with anything like friendliness but he can manage .. neutral? Mildly suspiciously neutral.]
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As toads also do in real life. Gorgug, for his part, stays on the ground, watching the other guy climb all the way up. He doesn't have a lamp on him, not needing it, the white of his pupils seeing very well....despite being so easily startled. ]
I-it's okay. You looked like--a giant spider. [ Yes. A giant spider. This guy. And Gorgug is squinting a little now. ] ....are you part spider? I met a spider-guy, once.
[ Just checking!! ]
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[Humans don't have snake eyes that glow a little in the dark but that's splitting hairs. Maybe it's the fault of the wizard robes, those glow a bit too, and nearly the same shade.
The croaks and little amphibian noises are .. not unpleasant, but Sephiroth doesn't speak toad and thus has NO IDEA about the discussion going on about the rather glaring lack of bookworms in this section, and whether or not there's a piece of pearl here, bookworms might be better to find.]
This is the spider section but I haven't seen any yet. Or pearl shards. The little animals are supposed to help but I'm not sure how.
[Feed them, obviously.]
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Even if they wore a red and blue bodysuit, they definitely had human-looking feet, right?
Gorgug eases his looking (and thinking) after a while, mainly when the guy says they're in the spider section (what??), glancing around like he's been mistaking spiders for books. But he looks back again, if still confused about this being the spider section. ]
Um, I don't-- I'm not sure, either. I don't know the rules...? It feels like we're missing some basic information, here.
[ As well as all the information, but the basics would help, too.
Too bad their toads only care about nodding and croaking in agreement about the sad state of their empty bellies. ]
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... Hopefully. He's going to be keeping an eye out just in case.]
Have you been through this before? Is this kind of vagueness normal? The woman said this is to save our planets..? Charlie didn't seem to think there was any imminent threats the last time he spoke to everyone.
[A broken pearl, funny looking outfits, and a giant strange library. What did that have to do with the stories they'd been told? He.. has not quite caught on that he's somewhere else yet.]
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[ Should he be questioning who this Charlie person is more? But the mention of Aurora clues Gorgug in that the guy is new, so that helps.
Actually, you know what: ] Do you know how all the other universes are doing where you're from?
[ Is that a thing you know, guy? ]
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[Missions he'd caught. Kind of like the quest requests, he supposed, but a bit more direct. He knows what to do with missions.
As he's asked about other universes, Sephiroth's expression turns a little thoughtful. Not shocked or incredulous, so he's encountered the idea before at least. Providing an accurate answer is paramount. Though nobody had punished him for getting anything wrong the past few months, who knew when that would change?]
I've heard nothing remarkable, save that there's a simulation that's occasionally stealing people and making them do things. No reports of radical changes towards good or ill, at least, though my sample size is limited to..
[He counts briefly on his fingers, brow furrowed.]
Perhaps four planets? Five? ...Five and a disparate timeline..?
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Oh. [ Paused... ] ...there's a lot of planets out there. And different universes. I've never heard about a simulation world before though.
[ That's new. And just the other day he was wondering about peculiar universes, such as where people don't crush bugs in their day to day lives. ]
But, uh, I guess... a lot of gods don't know what's going on. My world's got gods too, and they didn't tell anyone about the universes, I think. [ He thinks. Because he wasn't really paying attention. ] We don't know if it's a true or a lie, but, we don't know how to find out, either. They don't exactly give us proof. Or a lot of anything except telling us what we've gotta do.
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[He liked math, it was predictable. It also made him wish that the space program was taking more of a forefront than mako reactors, because there's a lot out there to explore and only one lifetime to explore it in.
Slowly he uncoils, and hops from his perch on top of the bookshelf. It's not a LONG fall but he manages it gracefully enough.
Gorgug is taller than he looks from above. This ... is a bit annoying, why is EVERYONE taller than him?]
It ... may be deceit. Even the .. very ancient people I've spoken with said nothing of a pending multiversal destruction, but I have spoken with those who come from a simulation that manipulated people for the entertainment of those running it.
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But also agreeable. Despite his earlier scare of a potential spider-guy and spiders, Gorgug's slipping into an otherwise calm, muted vibe. Looking down at the other as he comes to ground level, though he does spare a look over to the two toads just vibing. But just for a second. ]
I talked to a guy who said he got put on a boat run by a chaotic entity that fed off their fear, so it kept putting him and people from other universes in terrible situations. [ He pauses, then realises in that thought: ] Were you somewhere where people were getting brought to from other universes and realities, and now it's happened again? Is that it?
[ How unlucky is this guy! ]
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The boat thing sounded a little bit like the simulation thing, was tormenting people for entertainment some kind of expected routine for 'higher powers'? Was this one such place? The books are eyed sourly.]
... Yes, after a fashion, though we weren't being tormented by the power that controlled the place, he didn't know why we were there either. I don't know if this is a different place or merely some other location on the same planet, planets are after all.. enormous..
[A book is selected at random and opened.
A single golden orb weaver spider climbs out. He watches it for a long moment.]
We were not in fear for our lives, not in that fashion. But we were ... becoming dragons. [It was terrifying but in a different way. The thought is shoved aside quickly.] I don't mean to be rude, but I've encountered a few different intelligent species there, and you .. don't resemble any of them in color. What ...
['What are you', is definitely a rude question.]
Are all your people so tall?
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Even though it should be on his croaking toad that is getting rather unhappy about being HUNGRY. And you know what that spider is? Not bookworms!!! It is becoming disgruntled, even while, yes, Gorgug is learning about a guy turning into a dragon, and ooooh, isn't that something-- and he wants to know about Gorgug's height? And maybe why he's green-- ]
...Tall? Uh, well, I guess my dad is tall... but my mom's about five feet...five, maybe? Like around her--
[ He's about to make a motion to signify her height (and he makes it around five feet five specifically), but he yelps instead, the second time in their meeting, as his toad jumps on top of his head and starts making lamenting croaking sounds. He wants to be paid attention to! They have bookworms to find! ]
W-wait, are you finally working? Do you sense something?
[ Or maybe some of us are thinking too highly about their toad's work ethics. ]
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As the toad hops out and makes its hunger known, Sephiroth, who does not at all speak amphibian, has no idea what to make of it.
Or when his own jumps up onto the book, immediately grabs a spider .. and spits it back out with a toadish expression of disgust. There's a third orb weaver now.]
.. How can you tell they sense anything at all, what if they're just.. toads?
[His toad gives him a reproachful look.]
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Well, they... they do feel a little magical. [ "A little". ] But-- I really wanna find those pearl shards and I want him to stop shouting in my ears? Aaah...
[ It's called desperation, nothing more. Gorgug swears he can feel the amphibian's webbed feet start messing with his hair up there, and he hisses 'Okay, okays!', starting to walk ("This way?") as he hopes to be led into some useful direction.
Sephiroth can join him or not. He seems to be getting led out of this spider section, at the very least. ]
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Then scrutinizes the toad a little closer.]
It seems normal to me. How can you tell if it's --- wait you can understand them?
[Ribbits weren't shouting to HIM, which means Gorgug might be hearing something he's not.
It's probably sensible to stay where he is and finish going over his shelf. He chooses to follow instead, there's answers to be had.]
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No? [ He looks back at the guy, Gorgug's toad still ribbiting on his head, a look of panic on the half-orc's face. ] I don't know what else to do. Why do toads make noises? Something's happening, right?
[ Should he stop walking? He tries that, coming to the end of the aisle, and the toad once again starts shuffling in place on his head. You have stopped moving!! We require BOOKWORMS!!
Thus the toad--as high as it's leaping from--jumps from Gorgug's head with a flying leap--straight onto the ground. Oh lord, look at him go! He be hopping!
(Not very fast, actually.) ]
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Something is definitely happening, and that's a froggy hunger dance, and Sephiroth can't interpret it.]
I don't know, these are the first nonaggressive toads I've ever encountered!
[They are in a library.
There is a very obvious solution to this. As Gorgug's toad heads for freedom or possibly lunch, and Sephiroth's begins putting up more of a struggle because FOOD, he does NOT let it go; the other one isn't really moving all that fast and ..]
... There's animal sections in the science shelves of libraries, aren't there? Maybe we can just. .. Find out?
[And it might not be as picked over as the spider section is for delicious free bookworms. This doesn't stop him from keeping tabs on where the toad on the ground is headed, in case they can, actually, somehow tell where pearl fragments are.]
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[ So Gorgug agrees with, but the direction that his toad is going for is the N wing: the Hobbies and Recreation. Which doesn't read anything like Science or Animals, and Gorgug's looking from where his toad is still hopping along and over to the other guy. ]
Do we just... leave it? Nothing bad'll happen, right? We're just in a library?
[ Gorgug, why are you asking the guy who looks younger than you what to do... ]
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Um.
[Things that were never covered in his lessons: this.]
I.. don't think it's a good idea, they were handing out cats too and those are predators. Theyre supposed to tell us where to find things, so.. we should.. probably follow it.
[He doesn't sound too certain about that, but he does trail hesitantly after it.]
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But the strangest thing occurs: his toad has gone. Despite its pace that shouldn't have been possible to lose, all that can be found on the ground are a scattering of books down the row. There are no lanterns to give the aisle light, making Sephiroth's robe the only source in this trying time. And there's also something...odd. An odd feeling. ]
Uh... hello? Toad?
[ Gorgug's stopped, trying to squint at the ground and ahead of them as he wonders if he should check the bookcases. But if Sephiroth should look behind them, he'll notice that the aisle has expanded behind them, even if they hadn't walked in that deeply--and there's also books on the ground there, too.
And the books all have a similar title on them: 'PLAY?' 'WILL YOU PLAY?' 'WIN A PRIZE! OPEN ME!'
All signs point to something good happening soon.
(At least Sephiroth's toad will sense both a pearl shard emanating from this aisle and from one of the books--and bookworms!) ]
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His night vision is excellent, hopefully Gorgug's is too; the robe's light will just have to be enough as he steps around the half-orc carefully to look forward and then back.
Something's not normal, something feels off, but Sephiroth doesn't know enough about libraries to know if this strange liminal place was TYPICAL of libraries or if they're walking into a trap. The toad isn't as cautious as he is, giving a happy croak and wriggling in the direction of PENDING FOOD, but he doesn't let it go. Not when the last one disappeared.]
..Someone's already been through this way.
[That's the entirely wrong conclusion, but who else would leave books all over the place, not in their proper shelves?! It's obscene!]
And I think..
[He never finishes the htought. Did the row get bigger? Was it this big a minute ago? He frowns back the way they'd come but there's a toad to find and the books seem.. not entirely the subject they SHOULD be. Anyone who's read Alice in Wonderland would know better than to open a book called 'Open Me'. That's an enormous Do Not Touch red flag.
Sephiroth, since having his soul junctioned directly to a very special green dragon, has had side effects even though she's gone. Like rampant curiosity. He should pass these books by. He really should. He doesn't. Toad in one hand, he plucks up the book labeled Win A Prize with the other one. The toad is enthusiastic. Extremely.]
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But instead of opening it up, he looks under it, and sure enough: no toad. Gorgug looks back over to the other guy when he speaks. There's something odd in the air, or it might be the darkness spookifying everything further for Gorgug. He doesn't like spooky, and his mouth is becoming a tight line as he looks back, and realises how he can't see the way they came in. ]
...uhhh, I think I've seen a horror movie like this....
[ So Gorgug is unhelpfully warning. For Sephiroth, he (and his toad) will notice something about the book he's picked up. Where the title read 'Win A Prize!' on it when he picked it up, it's now changed to something new:
PEARL PIECE?
or
BOOKWORMS?
Sephiroth, are you quicker than a toad? Who will touch or acknowledge the book cover first? Because the toad might not be able to see the title, but it'll know. It's magical!
Maybe no one will know who got to it first because whatever happens, whether the book is opened or not once it's touched with a prize in mind: it bursts open, and the ground will become a quicksand of both worms and pearl shards, threatening to pull Sephiroth into a deepening centre. Books start flying off the shelves to start slapping him and Gorgug to get in their way, but worry not: some of those books have very specific titles on them that might be able to help, Sephiroth!! ]
sorry for delays, got the flu. bleh.
But the warning earns Gorgug a sharp, if confused look.]
A movie? What do you mean--
[This isn't a movie! Unfortunately that means Sephiroth is distracted when it comes to the book in his hands, and the toad happily hops for it, sensing deliciousness pending - pearls can wait, bookworms CANNOT. It lands on the sudden open page with a plop and begins searching for its delectable treats.
About the same time the ground becomes a disgusting miasma of bookworms and pearl shards, much to the toad's delight, and hanging onto the book he has becomes not a priority for Sephiroth in favor of tossing it aside and grabbing for one of the heftier ones just flying around trying to hit him, with every intention of putting it to use warding off all its airborne papery allies. If he's sinking, well, that's a lesser concern for the moment - not much stops him from being dragged towards the middle.
His amphibian 'ally' meanwhile makes good use of this opportunity, attempting to monch. Priorities.]
sorry to hear, that always sucks! hope you're doing better now
Aaahhh!
[ Fortunately: Gorgug manages to grab onto the book shelving, toppling towards it instead of the other, more sinking way. Unfortunately? The ground is worms!! The ground is worms!!! That's gross!! ]
I knew it, I told yo-- ow!?
[ Also unfortunately: books are smacking him, which is very rude. He thwacks them right back as they come bounding for him. And he looks over at the other guy, witnessing--oh boy! He's sinking! ]
H-hey! [ Oh shit, oh shit, what should he do? Try and move closer to the guy?? But he can only do so diagonally...! ] Y-you're gonna sink!
[ Probably, maybe...!! It's at least a slow sink, but also: that's not good either?! ]
A little. But at least not working for a few days!!
i slow on weekends for tagging so hope you're more recovered now!
getting better slowly! Seems to be dragging a bit though.
flus always do 😔
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